In my twenty years of being in the chiropractic profession, I’ve seen a lot of strange ways people have injured themselves. I’ve often walked away thinking “and you thought that was a good idea at the time?” Most people equate back pain with lifting something heavy, but it is rare that I hear a patient say they have hurt themselves lifting something they shouldn’t have been lifting in the first place. In today’s era of computers, cell phones, and tablets, these modern conveniences have created a whole new set of problems. We have created a new modern malady that afflicts many – the aptly named “Text Neck.” Around the Cary and Morrisville areas, we have no shortage of people sitting in front of computers or some type of screen every single day. A recent study released some statistics that were rather startling.

All age groups spend as much time in front of a PC/laptop/tablet/phone screen as they do asleep in bed

Adults 55 and older average 6.64 hours in front of a screen

Adults 18-24 spend on average 8.83 hours in front of a screen!

84% admit to suffering from back pain in the past year

This group loses more working days to back pain than their parents’ generation (1.5 days more)

Their pain is more likely to be experienced in the upper back and neck

When most people look at their phones and portable devices, they do it primarily with a head down, flexed neck posture. It’s no wonder they have upper back and neck pain.

What happens when we carry our head forward like this? First, we need to discuss what is good posture. If we look at someone from the side when they are standing, you should be able to draw a vertical line from their ear through their shoulder, and down through their hip. When someone is standing with perfect posture, there is very little muscle activity taking place to hold our head in the proper position. The spine is in a neutral position; it’s not flexed, bent or rotated. With this neutral posture, there is no strain placed on the joints, ligaments, or discs.

Ideally, the head should sit directly on the neck and shoulders like a golf ball sits on a tee. But when we begin to flex the neck forward, the weight of our head is more like a bowling ball than a golf ball. The head weighs about 12 pounds. If we have our neck flexed at a 15 degree angle, its weight effectively reaches 27 pounds. At a 45 degree angle, that weight becomes 49 pounds, and at 60 degrees – 60 pounds! That is like having a small child hanging off of our neck!

This forward neck posture leads to strain on the discs and increases the potential for disc herniations. It places a tremendous strain on the ligaments in the neck, which may cause them to become lax – or loose, which can lead to joint instability. It places extra strain on the joints and may lead to early degenerative joint disease or arthritis. It causes your neck and upper back muscles to be in a constantly contracted state – which leads to muscle fatigue, tightness and usually an accompanied burning pain.

3 simple upper body stretches for neck pain

To counteract the damage we do to ourselves, I’ve created a simple 3-step routine you should incorporate into your daily schedule several times a day.

1) Bruegger’s Upper Body Stretch

Todd Wegerski DC, demonstrates Bruegger’s Position

The stretch helps to counteract all of the forward flexion taking place in our neck, shoulders, arms and upper back. Sit up nice and tall, while maintaining the curve in your lower back. Let your arms hang down at your sides and fully extend your elbows. Allow your shoulders to fall back and downward, with a simple contraction between your shoulder blades. Rotate your hands so that your thumbs are turned out as far as they can go, and then separate your fingers as wide as they can. Retract your chin as if trying to pull the curve out of your neck. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds. Repeat this stretch 3x.

2) Behind the Back Stretch

Shoulder Stretch – Todd Wegerski DC

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, arms by your side. Reach both hands behind your backside, and clasp your right wrist in your left hand. Use your left hand to gently straighten your right arm and pull it away from you slightly. As you are doing this slightly look up towards the ceiling with your neck. As with all stretches or exercises, don’t forget to repeat the process by switching to the other side. Hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds. Repeat 3x.

3) Neck Stretch (Upper Trap and Levator Scapulae)

Todd Wegerski, DC demonstrates the levator scapulae muscle stretch.

This stretch is performed seated. Sit up straight. I instruct my patients to sit on their right hand. Next gently lean your body to the left to feel a slight pull sensation in the neck. Look to the left by rotating your neck about 45 degrees. With your left hand, grab the back of your head and pull your neck gently forward so that your are looking into your left armpit. Hold this stretch for 10 seconds and repeat three times. Repeat the process while sitting on your left hand and using right hand to pull you towards your right armpit.

The best way to prevent any injury is to reduce your exposure to harmful events. That 18-24 year old age group with almost 9 hours in front of a screen! Seriously, put it down folks! Look around you! There’s a beautiful world out there.

Every Tuesday, Dr. Todd Wegerski D.C. takes to Facebook live with his weekly series titled “2 for Tuesday” on Back Talking! The basics of the show; take 2 questions that are either frequently asked in the office or that have been submitted to him either through email or in the Facebook live discussion, and give 2 quick concise answers. It’s that simple. This is the pilot episode or episode 0, and in this episode Dr. Wegerski discusses his 20 years of experience helping people with back problems, as well as discussing whether x-rays are necessary when seeing a chiropractor on the first visit.

Are X-rays Necessary?

Many patients are surprised when they discover that they don’t require x-rays or imaging studies on their first visit. While imaging is an important tool, probably the most valuable part of the patient examination is the history. This is the interview portion of the exam where the physician asks questions to the patient. When a good history is acquired, the physician has a working diagnosis in his head before they have even touched the patient. What the physician is probing, asking, and listening for are so called “red flags”. These are items that get the doctors attention and require deeper investigation.

Red flags consist of the following:

Severe or progressive neurological deficits such as loss of motor control or loss of bowel or bladder control

Loss of reflexes upon examination

Unexplained weight loss

Previous history of cancer

Long term use of steroids or immunosuppressants

and of course Trauma, when there is suspicion of a broken bone

So the answer to the question of whether x-rays or imaging are necessary is occasionally. In the absence of red flags, we don’t consider imaging studies on the first visit. While imaging allows us to peer inside the body, it also reveals abnormalities that can potentially not be the cause of the patients pain. For example, if we were to place 3 healthy individuals into a MRI machine and image their lower back, one out of three of those individuals will show a herniated disk even though they have no symptoms of a herniated disk at all. This is called a false-positive, yes they are positive for a herniated disk, but it is false because it is asymptomatic. So I hope you can see how imaging studies can send you on a wild goose chase!

For more information or if you have any questions, you can reach out to me at todd@backtalkinghelp.com. If you are in the Cary or Morrisville area, you can visit me here.

It’s time for a “2 for Tuesday!” episode of BackTalking! Where every Tuesday we answer 2 questions that are frequently asked of chiropractors. If you have a question that you would like answered, just leave it in the comment section blow, or if you would like to remain confidential you can email me at todd@backtalkinghelp.com

The Joint Chiropractic – Morrisville NC

Interested in becoming a patient of Dr Todd Wegerski? Our location is conveniently located for residents in the Cary, Morrisville, Apex, and Raleigh Durham region. We are located in the Parkwest Village Shopping center at the corner of Cary Parkway and Chapel Hill Road. For more information call us at 919-377-2303 or check us out here http://bit.ly/2f4MDQ3

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Come join me every Tuesday afternoon at or around 2pm as we go live on Facebook with our "Ask a Chiropractor" series on Back Talking! In the episode, I answer questions on anything related to the spine or back, or chiropractic related. Follow me on Facebook by liking the The Joint Chiropractic Morrisville page, so that you'll be notified of new shows.

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1012 Market Center Drive
Morrisville, NC 27560

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